This System is Designed to Fail. We’re Done Pretending Otherwise.

A FATAL INCIDENT: ONE TOO MANY
On April 9, 2025, in Lexington, Missouri, a subcontractor had contacted 811 five days before breaking ground. Utility operators were notified1. A locator was dispatched and marked the lines. Every box was checked. Every step of the process was followed. That evening, a drill struck a gas main that was never marked. Gas leaked for more than three hours. At 7:42 p.m., the home of a father and his two children exploded. A five-year-old boy was killed. His father and ten-year-old sister were airlifted to Kansas City with severe burns. The 811 process worked exactly as designed. And that’s the problem.